Elevator enthusiasts
Elevator Enthusiasts are people who are interested in and enthusiastic about them. On the internet, especially on YouTube, there is a community with many elevator enthusiasts called the YouTube Elevator Community. This community began in 2007 due to the popularity of Dieselducy and Musicfreakcc's elevator videos and has thousands of users worldwide in it. Characteristics Some of the characteristics of an elevator enthusiasts are: *Riding the elevator up and down. *Riding the elevator to the highest or lowest floor. *Sometimes taking pictures or video(s) of elevators and sometimes sharing them on social media. *Recording the speed of the elevator. *Focusing on the leveling of the elevator. *Check the while they are riding. *Watching the . *Looking for many places that may have interesting elevators to ride History Beginnings Although it is unknown how and when people's interests in elevators started, Dieselducy is well known for being perhaps the first person to show interest in elevators in the way enthusiasts do today. In 1988, he came up with the idea of filming elevators in his 5th grade classroom when he saw a Video Camcorder on the A/V cart while he was reading a National Geographic magazine article about the high-speed Otis Elevonic 401 scenic elevators at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. As a result of becoming fascinated with these elevators at the same time of seeing the camcorder, he thought about how using a camcorder to record this elevator system could allow him to watch the experience of the ride over and over again without having to keep going back to the place, thus forming the concept of filming elevators. He did end up doing it in 1993, making him the first person in the world known to film elevators specifically for hobby-related purposes. Introduction of elevator filming/enthusiasm to the internet In addition to coming up with the idea, dieselducy is also well known for introducing elevator filming and enthusiasm to the internet via YouTube videos. He posted the first-ever hobby-based elevator video to YouTube in October 2006, and then in February 2007, when he went to Atlanta to train for his job at Norfolk Southern Railroad, he began uploading elevator videos regularly when he revisited the Atlanta hotels he filmed in back in 1993 and retook those elevators with his Sony T1. A Growing Community Ever since dieselducy filmed several elevators in early 2007, more people who are interested in elevators have come across his videos and started making elevator videos themselves and posting them to YouTube. Although this trend surfaced when crapper1 uploaded a couple elevator videos to YouTube in March 2007, it wasn't until musicfreakcc began filming elevators and uploading them to YouTube that elevator filming became popular. Issues regarding elevator enthusiasts filming elevators Many places with elevators have rules that conflict with elevator photography, especially after the attacks of 9/11. These are some of the most common examples: * Many elevator filmers have been harassed and/or detained by security guardsBUSTED by Mall Security on the Freight elevator @ Northstar Mall and occasionally police officersI was harassed by The Roanoke Police Department for taking pictures and video of a public elevator due to their behavior of entering buildings and/or taking pictures and videos in places where photography is prohibited or without permission from security guards or building owners. However, this isn't always a problem on all buildings with security. For example, Reza Tanaka has been become good friends with the security guards of Gotong Royong Hospital, a hospital located beside his former school. *Elevator filmers that are children or teens sometimes get questioned and/or kicked out when trying to enter places such as commercial or privately owned buildings. *The filming of service/freight elevators is also controversial because normally, they are not designed for passengers and restricted to authorized personnel only. Thus the majority of places ban public passengers from riding them. Many elevator filmers have gotten in trouble for riding such elevators for this reason. * Many elevator filmers have bought and collected elevator keys off the internet, and although that itself, is completely legal, many filmers in the past have used such keys illegally on elevators. Most commonly, they have been used to turn off elevator cab fans that enthusiasts find to be annoying and that drown out the sound of the elevator motor. They have also used them to put elevators into special operating modes that, in normal situations, would disrupt normal, efficient elevator operations. When done without permission, these actions can be considered tampering with someone else's equipment and depending on the place, it could lead to permanent expulsion from the property. The most serious issue, however, is enthusiasts using them to access floors usually restricted to the public without permission. That is considered breaking-and-entering and the elevator key would be seen as a burglary tool. If someone is caught doing this, they could, in the worst case, be arrested. Due to the misuse of elevator keys in the elevator community, YouTube users 22408aaron and Dieselducy have made videos addressing this issue to inform other elevator filmers about the unlawfulness of such behaviors. *